Next: 8 Apr 2027
Hana Matsuri
The Buddha's birthday in Japan, the Flower Festival, with a small shrine roofed in blossom.
What happens
Japanese temples keep the birthday of the Buddha on 8 April and call it Hana Matsuri, the Flower Festival. Each temple sets out a hanamidō, a small open pavilion whose roof is covered with spring flowers. It stands for the garden at Lumbini where the Buddha is said to have been born among blossoming trees. Inside is a small statue of the infant Buddha, and visitors ladle sweet tea over it. The tea, amacha, is brewed from the leaves of a kind of hydrangea.
The flowers
Also part of it, and being written: Amacha (Sweet hydrangea-leaf tea poured over the statue.).
Original text by the Phool desk, written with AI assistance. Background: "Buddha's Birthday" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Buddha's Birthday: User: (WT-shared) Manoj nav at wts wikivoyage, Public domain, source
- Cherry blossom: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mountain hydrangea: Laitche, Public domain, source